It takes a village to preserve a city

There’s no shortage of threats to Asheville’s historic homes, commercial buildings, landscapes and neighborhoods, notes Jack Thomson, executive director of The Preservation Society of Asheville and Buncombe County. And while he sees the area’s current real estate boom as the single biggest issue, another key problem is public misconceptions about the different preservation programs — and the widely varying degrees of protection they confer.

“In my experience, a really large segment of the general public knows just enough to be dangerous,” says Thomson. And many owners of historic properties, he continues, don’t understand the benefits these programs provide — or the restrictions that come with them. For these reasons, he believes, outreach and education efforts are essential.